Southport Middle School educator named top teacher in St. Lucie County

Southport Middle School educator named top teacher in St. Lucie County Cristina Veresan (right), a teacher from Southport Middle School, is congratulated by Olivia Watkins after Veresan was named the 2012 Teacher of the Year during the Night of the Stars at Fort Pierce Central High School on Saturday evening. SAM WOLFE/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS

ST. LUCIE COUNTY ? Friends of Cristina Veresan, a big fan of the Academy Awards as well as the St. Lucie County teacher of the year for 2012, think there ought to be an Oscar for teachers.

"There is, and it's right here in St. Lucie County," she said Saturday night after topping 2,500 other district teachers for the annual distinction and a chance at regional and statewide teacher of the year competitions. "But I'm just in a supporting role. My students take the lead in the classroom and the field, and this is dedicated to them."

Veresan, 32, teaches seventh-grade general science at Southport Middle School. A resident of the Jensen Beach area of St. Lucie County, she is in her fifth year of teaching after earlier careers in film, science and mental health.

She won out over nominees from 41 other schools in the 41,000-student St. Lucie County School District. The other two finalists were Elizabeth Pruitt, a mathematics teacher at Forest Grove Middle School, and Jeremy Szpaichler, a ninth-grade math teacher at Treasure Coast High School.

Veresan and other winners in the district's "Night of the Stars" awards ceremony at the Fort Pierce Central High School auditorium received gift packages including $250 and a three-day stay at a St. Petersburg Beach resort. The Oscar-worthy gala was complete with music, dance, envelope openings, drum rolls and many evening gowns in the near-capacity crowd of 750.

Colleen Morrissey, 22, of Port St. Lucie, a special education teacher at St. Lucie West Centennial High School, was named outstanding first-year teacher. Betty Lacayo of Port St. Lucie, a Japanese-American fifth-grade teacher at White City Elementary, won the distinguished minority educator award.

And Holly Soles of Port St. Lucie, secretary in the student services division, was named school-related employee of the year over 2,500 other non-classroom staff. She also will go on to regional and statewide competition.